Who's in Your Web? Why Community May Be the Most Underrated Tool Against Homelessness

On her way to a podcast recording one morning, Jennifer Jackson saw four young men on the street. What she was thinking about them stayed with her.

Jennifer Jackson, Executive Director of Heartland Counseling Services, drives in from the north side of Sioux City. On a recent morning, coming down toward the Mission, she noticed four young men with different backgrounds, all together, with backpacks, one with a bike. She could tell they were homeless.

"I thought, gosh, I hope they're all supporting each other," she said. "I was thinking about the relationships. It's always connections, right? We're such social beings."

It was a simple observation. But it pointed to something that doesn't get talked about enough when people discuss the causes and solutions of homelessness.

The need that goes unmet

Ask most people what drives homelessness and they'll name the visible things: addiction, job loss, mental illness, the cost of housing. These are real. They're documented. They're important.

What gets less attention is what sits underneath many of those factors: the absence of a support network. Not the absence of resources, though that matters too, but the absence of people. Specific, trustworthy, consistent people who know your name and show up.

"If you think of yourself in the middle of a spiderweb and you're the spider, who are all those individuals around you in that web?"

For work. For your marriage. For your faith. For your health. For the days when you're struggling with something you can't name. Each thread of the web connects you to a different person with different knowledge, different proximity, different kinds of care. A healthy life requires multiple, differentiated relationships. And many of the people walking through TGM's doors don't have them.

When the web is thin, or gone

For someone navigating mental illness without treatment, or early addiction, or a sudden financial catastrophe, the quality of the web around them often determines whether they stabilize or spiral.

"Things spiral," Jennifer said. "Now they're losing their job. Now they've lost their family. They have no stability. They've been evicted. They have no money to pay the car payment or gas. Everything just spirals out of control and they find themselves homeless on the streets."

That "somebody", the person who shows up consistently, who knows your situation, who can sit with you in the hard part, is exactly what The Gospel Mission and its partners work to provide. And exactly what volunteers and community members can offer.

What getting involved actually looks like

At Heartland's Day Rehabilitation program, known as the Life Center, the biggest need is volunteers who will cook, play games, or host a movie night for people who largely live alone.

At The Gospel Mission's Warming Shelter, a formal mentorship program launched this past year matches community volunteers with shelter clients who are ready for that kind of relationship: consistent, intentional, long-term. The program's seventh mentor was onboarded recently, and the need for more is ongoing.

Nate Gates, Associate Executive Director of The Gospel Mission, framed it simply: "The big thing is having the heart. A lot of times it's just being present. Listening. Encouraging."

You don't need clinical training to add a thread to someone's web. You need to be trustworthy. Consistent. Willing to show up.

"Even in the worst situation," Jennifer said, "we always need somebody."

To volunteer at The Gospel Mission or learn about becoming a mentor, call us at 712-255-1769. To volunteer at Heartland Counseling's Life Center, visit heartlandcounselingservices.org or call 402-494-3337.

From Episode 9 of TGM Aware, the official podcast of The Gospel Mission in Sioux City, Iowa.